Allison Oster
Public Relations Manager
(626) 815-4518
1,200 Graduate at APU’s Spring Commencement
May 1, 2008
AZUSA, Calif. –
More than 1,200 students are expected to participate in the spring commencement ceremonies at Azusa Pacific University on Sat., May 3. The undergraduate ceremony takes place at 6 p.m. with 719 bachelor’s degree recipients. The graduate ceremony occurs at 9:30 a.m. with 414 master’s degree, 143 degree completion, and 13 doctoral degree recipients.
The spring commencement ceremonies are held in Cougar Stadium on Azusa’s East Campus, located at 901 E. Alosta Ave., Azusa, Calif.
Chaplain Major Warren A. Watties, M.Div. ’92, serves as the keynote speaker for the evening undergraduate ceremony. A Protestant chaplain ordained by the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Chaplain Watties is the senior Protestant chaplain at the Los Angeles Air Force Base. He supervises worship services and religious education classes, and provides vision for services at the Space and Missile Systems Center. Wattie’s ministry reaches more than 4,400 military and civilian employees in 84 units in the Los Angeles area. In 1975, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and after three years of active duty, left to fulfill his calling to full-time ministry. He has served as a youth pastor, associate pastor, and Christian school teacher and principal (K-12). After 20 years of civilian ministry, Wattie’s reconnected with his military roots in 1993. After serving in multiple states, he was named Air Force Chaplain of the Year in 2004, while also advancing to major.
Marianne Hattar-Pollara, RN, DNSC, FAAN, professor and the associate dean for research and graduate programs in APU's School of Nursing,offers the keynote address for the morning graduate ceremony. She is recognized for her knowledge of women’s health at the national and international level, particularly immigrant women. Hattar-Pollara’s career began at APU in 1995, when she helped develop and achieve full accreditation of the Doctor of Philosophy in the Nursing Program. She received her master’s degree in psychiatric nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles and earned her doctorate from University of California, San Francisco. Currently, she is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and chair of the Expert Panel of Global Nursing and Health for the American Academy of Nursing. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Fulbright Academy of Science and Technology and is a Fulbright research scholar on women’s health.
Featured in TIME magazine and ranked as one of the nation’s best by U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Azusa Pacific is a comprehensive, Christian, evangelical university, committed to God First and known for excellence in higher education. Azusa Pacific’s main campus lies just 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, while its seven Southern California regional centers bring convenience and extend quality programming. The university offers more than 50 areas of undergraduate study, 23 master's degrees, and 7 doctorates to a total student population of more than 8,100.
